1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to wiring components of relocatable wiring systems and particularly to devices connecting said wiring components into such systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical wiring for operating lighting fixtures and other circuit loads has long been an art practiced in a variety of similar, basically simple ways. The various forms of "hardwiring" constitute the bulk of present day wiring methods. "Hardwiring" methods typically involve installation of conduits with wire or cable then being pulled through the conduit. In the case of lighting fixtures, these fixtures must then be hung and connected to the electrical system within the conduit so that the fixtures can then be energized. These prior practices require substantial labor costs which typically account for seventy to eighty percent of total electrical installation job cost. Prior wiring systems installed by this conventional "pipe and wire process" has the additional disadvantage that it cannot be used for temporary lighting during facility construction and again for permanent lighting since those materials used in hardwiring processes are usually not reusable. Further, circuitry changes due to layout revision or expansion cannot readily be accommodated in prior art hardwiring systems due to a typical inability when using such prior art systems to reuse those materials which have been cut, such as conduit, for a dedicated circuit arrangement. Relocation of lighting fixtures or other electrical loads in the prior art hardwired systems is thus virtually impossible, it usually being necessary to begin the wiring process anew when fixture relocation is necessary. Prior art hardwiring systems also require that a number of different structural elements be kept in inventory, these structural elements including conduit, wire, couplings, connectors, wirenuts and other miscellaneous materials. Those disadvantages inherent in conventional hardwiring processes are generally obviated through the employment of wiring systems known particularly in the industrial and commercial lighting fields by the mark RELOC which is a trademark of Lithonia Lighting, Inc., a Division of National Service Industries, Inc. of Atlanta, Ga. The manufactured wiring systems marketed under the mark RELOC facilitate the construction of industrial and commercial installations through the provision of plug-in, relocatable, modular components suitable for commercial wiring, industrial wiring, access floor wiring, local switching and convenient power applications. The primary benefits of the RELOC manufactured wiring systems include reductions in installation time and labor costs as well as easy fixture relocation. Use of these premanufactured relocatable wiring systems can provide labor savings of approximately 75% and total job cost reductions of approximately 25%. The RELOC systems also require a minimum number of inventory components which components can be manufactured with high quality control in a manufacturing facility to meet or exceed the requirements of UL, the National Electrical Code, and CSA.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,287, Jonsson discloses a manufactured wiring system particularly intended in commercial applications to provide power to lighting fixtures mounted in the ceilings of environmental spaces. The commercial manufactured wiring system of Jonsson is typically disposed in the air handling space located above the effective ceiling of the space. In such commercial applications, switching is typically necessary. Further, materials must be employed which are rated as plenum-rated materials.
The present invention improves upon the prior art including the patent to Jonsson by the provision of a relocatable manufactured wiring system which is relatively inexpensive and more easily manufactured when compared to the structures of the prior art.